Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: A hat-trick from Hossein Tayebi helped Iran cruise to a 7-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan in the quarter-finals of the AFC Futsal Championship at Uzbekistan Stadium on Wednesday to secure a place in the semi-finals and qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Iran took the lead on seven minutes through Tayebi before Mohammad Taheri and two goals from Tayebi put the 10-time winners in firm control at the interval.
And Iran’s dominance continued after the restart as Ghodrat Bahadori, Asghar Hassanzadeh and Mehran Alighadr all got on the scoresheet before Tayebi completed his hat-trick to seal the win.
Iran took control of the game from the off and had their first chance of note in the third minute, but Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Kirill Ermolov saved well from Mahdi Javid.
But Iran took the lead on seven minutes when leading scorer Tayebi received the ball from Mohammadreza Sangsefidi before his strike on the turn evaded Ermolov for his seventh goal of the tournament.
Mohammad Nazelmalsharie’s Iran then doubled their advantage a minute later when Taheri’s effort from close in found the back of the net off Ermolov to claim his fourth of the campaign.
And as Iran’s dominance continued, Farhad Tavakoli struck the woodwork midway through the half.
But Iran goalkeeper Sepehr Mohammadi was called into action for the first time to twice deny Rustam Ermekov in the 13th minute as Kyrgyzstan began to fight back.
Normal service, though, was resumed five minutes before the break as Tayebi’s blistering strike from the right flew into the back of the net after he was again played in by Sangsefidi.
Nazelmalsharie insists Iran's real work starts now
Two minutes after the restart Sangsefidi’s sensational volley from Farhad Tavakoli’s corner hit the side netting before Javid dispossessed Erkin Tabaldiev only to be thwarted by Ermolov as he raced through on goal.
But Iran grabbed their fourth six minutes in when Bahadori’s effort from distance crept under Ermolov for his third of the tournament.
Hassanzadeh then netted for the sixth time in four games to make it five with a deft chip over Ermolov less than a minute later before Alighadr drilled home Iran’s sixth.
And eight minutes from time Tayebi netted his third from close in as Iran underlined their title credentials.
Photo: AFC